cRimAl

Well, I also still have a superlong way to go so I won't be able to give you an answer but I can tell you this...I wouldn't worry about it too much. Krishna has come into your life so I would just do my very best to serve Krishna. I think that you can get very lost in all the rest. At least, I have been very lost in it for a way too long time. Now I just want to serve Krishna and try my hardest to become a better person. I never got all that arguinh and I also wouldn't want to be a part of it, way too complicated for me. But it is true. Shiva is indeed (also) worshipped as the Supreme one.

Funny, I just read Jagannatha-priya-natakam... But I really couldn't help you. I'm way too dumb to explain stuff like that.

I never say I can't eat meat (yuck!) or smoke. I have chosen not to. No one demanded that I do so; rather, because I decided to dedicate my life to Mahaprabhu's service, I voluntarily accepted the conditions of discipleship. THAT is really nice said.

Eleanor Rigby is a cool song to play on the guitar...

Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai !!!

I don't think that any of this is all that important. I think that the main things is that we have to learn how to elevate ourselves...

so please excuse me for any offence, i have only a little idea that the guru debate is more for who has not a guru, maybe hiding behind "i do not need.. krsna is the guru" Oh, but I do want and need a guru. Ofcourse I do...i'm merely saying that in the end the real guru will always be Krishna cause He is the guru of the guru of the guru... ANyways, no offence taken, I was just trying to understand better where you were coming from.

I have always felt like KC is a (potential) bomb that could blow away the evil that's so strong in this Western world. I was thinking about that this weekend when I saw the devotees chanting in the temple. Srila Prabhupada brought the movement here so many years ago and I guess that I don't have to make clear how 'the bad' has always tried to hold it back (as it will always try to do with that which is promoting what's good) and still, despite the many problems that the movement had to overcome there's still so many people overhere that are chanting so sincerely, and still more people get attracted and attached to it...I guess that this clearly illustrates the potential that KC is.

I think that many people forget (or ignore) just how loving and forgiving Krishna is. You know, it's weird how we sometimes have to go through tremendous spiritual downs just to come out a bit further and higher so who knows, maybe Krishna is already helping you by making it a bit harder on you. The fight with our mind will probably be a constant fight, no matter how spiritual advanced we are. In fact, I think that the further we advance the harder the fight will become...afterall, maya is also looking for victims the whole time. But what do I know ?! I'm fighting of demons every day myself. I guess we can only try the best we can. I wish you all the best and I hope you'll come out of this as a much stronger and more confident person.

However, there are many places all throughout shastra which describe what qualifications one must have to be a guru. Indeed, but i'm afraid that people don't get the opportunity to spend enough time with the person that they have chosen as their potential guru so doesn't that make it pretty impossible in a lot of cases to make that up for yourself ? I read somewhere that a pupil should spend at least a year in close association with his/her (i guess that some persons will already claim now that this would be impossible for women since close association between women and guru's is not considered to be 'beneficial, but that's a whole other discussion I guess) potential guru so that 'both' parties could see if giving/taking initiation would be favorable. I think there have been enough examples already in the past of people getting into serious mental problems because of guru issues so I definitely think that it's something that we shouldn't deal with in a lighthearted manner. I'm sorry, I wish i could explain myself a little bit better but English is not my main language and I seem to be missing a lot of words in my english vocabulary that are in fact very necessary to make my thoughts and questions more clear, so forgive me if my sentences seem a little bit weird sometimes.

in these debates the ones saying that the guru is ONLY krsna or that the ONLY guru is an acharya who is no more in our world are very active and maybe, often, the biggest "time wasters" and insincere.... maybe more than the ones who, correctly, approach (or pray krsna to approach one day) a pure, present, uttama adhikari and follow (or try to follow) Hmm, that sounds like a strange way of reasoning to me. Communication based on just written words isn't always easy I guess. I just hope you didn't understand me wrong.

The thing is: when do you know that a guru is bogus ? My guru is Krishna. I often wonder why I don't hear people talking more about Krishna as their guru, especially in temples where guru debate takes up a whole lot of precious time.

Oh and priitaa, what I definitely want to say also is: thank YOU !! I don't think that you can imagine how much you have meant for me this week. Isn't it weird how we can be of importance for anyone without even realizing it ?! Anyways, thanx, from the bottom of my heart. Hare Krishna. CrimAl.

Priitaa d.d...hare krishna ! Yeah, I know about the stuff that fights depression, both herbal and not herbal but i don't really need it cause I don't really feel depressed. We have just spend the last two days at the temple and I can't even begin to say how good i'm feeling right now...doors have been opened indeed, doors of which I thought that they would never open...I have learned so much all ready in the last two days and tomorrow it's sunday fest and I'm really looking forward to that. But I do want to thank you for your nice and kind words...you're right, being around devotees is a blessing, even if some are annoying...That's why i'm also glad that I came across this forum...it feels like a temple online. Radhe Radhe Crimal.

What feels weird is when Krishna turns his head for a second. I mean, it's a second for Him but it can feel like months for us normal people that are prisoners of time.

Well, I think that I can say for sure that we can trust Krishna. Got plenty of proof for that today !

I hope you will find a new job soon, I wish you would. Ha, I just spend the day at the temple and it looks like i'll be doing some bookdistribution in the next months. HARE KRISHNA !!

priitaa: I have just spend 6 and 1/2 years working in my fathers comicshop. I won't go into the details but my father is a very troubled person, he's even taking heavy anti depressants. ANyways, for the past six years I have lived for him AND for my ex-wife, two people that have done everything to bash my feelings for Krishna. So, for the past months my sister has been without a job also due to depressed feelings (they claim that it runs in the family and that I'm also a depressed person) so he hired her for two weeks because welfare didn't pay her for two weeks. Ofcourse, things got heated since she was hired to do my job and today; well today I found out that I lost my job, I only got half of the wage that I had to get, and when I said that I now would be without money for a few months and probably go homeless because of that he just lifted his shoulders in an i-don't-care movement. AND i have been dealing with this since I was a wee little one. So, yes, temple life does sounds like heaven for me.

due to the deeds in the past lives. One simply cannot do away with it, is my personal experience. My life is more or less is like yours! A loveless life where my wife lives with me like a co-passenger in a train compartment, busy nursing her ego all the time. Just imagine the type of life I am leading! But I console myself that, it was my own past Karma, I am paying for and try to do Sadhana (I am not sure, if it can be called so) to the best of my ability. I pray God to give me mental, physical strength to fight the odds and help me continue to do my Sadhana. Why do not you do the same? One day God must take pity on us. Don't you think so? That's really nice. I wish I could think a little bit more like that. I always feel ripped off for not being able to live in a temple.

"Krsna may embrace me in love or trample me under His feet. He may break my heart by hiding Himself from me. Let that debauchee do whatever he likes, but He will always be the only Lord of my life." I always loved this one. It pretty much describes how I feel.

Trust Krsna? Some acaryas say do not, because He takes everything dear away. Yep, there's definitely sacrifice involved.

I say 'yes'. We can and have to trust Krishna. It's actually fun, surrendering. We all have to surrender anyways. You know, it's extremely funny that you ask this question: I just lost my job today and the whole day I have been thinking in what direction Krishna will send me now. Another job is and has never been an option just because I have always trusted so i'm very curious as to what the next chapter of my life will be and I'm not going for anything less than complete service. Ofcourse, this service always asks for certain sacrifices and that's exactly where my trust and how far i'm willing to go with that will come peeping in. You know: sometimes it seems like trusting Krishna 100% comes pretty close to being a madman. Being guided is fun but can no doubt be very scary. Anyways: why do YOU think that you can't trust Krishna ? Maybe you're just not ready yet to completely let go of this world. I wouldn't immediately think of it as something being wrong with you. i've saw quite some posts of you already and it looks like your devotion to Krishna is pretty sincere so why doubt...I don't think that we need to force ourselves, forcing is never good. Sorry for the long rambling, i'm kind of euforic which'll probably change again the moment I realize i'm really without a job and without money. /images/graemlins/wink.gif Either way, i'm ready for more.

says me that forgot to log in. Hare Krishna.

I was wondering: so far I have only studied the first five canto's of the Srimad Bhagavatam (translated in Dutch) and I was wondering now: have all the canto's of the SB been translated by Srila Prabhupada in English or have other people worked on that as well ? And also, how can you find out who did the translations to other languages like dutch or french ?

I mentioned this here once allready: my first marriage did not survive my passion for krishna consciousness, though I have to say, it was mainly my own fault. Someone mentioned here that a vaisnava should be tolerant and I have to admit that I was anything besides that. I had found a whole new way of living in the Bhagavad-Gita and in the words of Prabhupada and I kind of wanted to share that with my wife and the rest of the people around me, the thing was, I didn't know how to share it so instead I was just fanatical but the worst part is that i was a bit like those early christians who changed the bible: i was a selective fanatic. I saw her faults without seeing mine. Hmm, where am I going with this ? Anyways: I think that it's important that you keep serving Krishna the best you can and you can do it in such a way that it becomes attractive for your wife. You can cook prasada for her untill she learns to appreciate it and even love to cook it herself, you can keep chanting untill she falls in love with the energy of the maha mantra...in other words, you can be the best you that you can be, for Krishna, for yourself, and for your family. And if you do that then how can you worry ? Hare Krishna